


Till the Moon Hath Taken Flight

by MoonFireFic



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Children of Earth Fix-It, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Gen, M/M, Some mention of Miracle Day - but I swear its brief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 05:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFireFic/pseuds/MoonFireFic
Summary: There is a secret buried within the files of Torchwood that Ianto Jones must keep hidden, one that could change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Till the Moon Hath Taken Flight  
**Characters:** Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Rhys, Rhiannon  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Beta:** None due to time constraints - mistakes are all mine on this one  
**Summary:** There is a secret buried within the files of Torchwood that Ianto Jones must keep hidden, one that could change everything.  
**A/N:** Written for the [](http://jantocam.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://jantocam.livejournal.com/)**jantocam** June challenge. Sorry its a day late, got a bit sun baked during the pride parade. First fic I have finished in months. Liberal sprinklings of Welsh and Celtic Folklore abound.  
Hope you like it.

**Till the Moon Hath Taken Flight**

__

_Pistyll Rhaeder (Spring of the Waterfall)_

_Powys, North Wales_

_Berwyn Mountains 1986_

__

  
“Be careful,” Colwyn warned his bride as she shimmied down the moss covered stones alongside the pool near the base of Pistyll Rhaeder. Terrwyn or Teri as she was called by her friends stretched a tentative foot unto the narrow path running along the back of the pool and turned to give him a thumbs-up before continuing on to the hidden cave the innkeeper had told them about behind the waterfall. 

  
“Found it!” she called up to him as the entrance came into view. “Just going to take a few shots before the light fades,” she added with a wave as she leaned against the rock behind her and raised her camera.

From his perch on the bank, Colwyn watched as she attempted to capture the sunlight sparkling onto the glittering cascade pouring overhead before lowering her camera and slipping inside the cave.

  
“My little daredevil,” he said with a rueful grin as he sat down to wait. 

  
~~~~~~~~

“Beautiful,” Teri whispered as she slipped off her backpack to switch lenses. A rainbow shimmered into existence across the curtain of water before her as it plunged into the pool below, and she laughed in child-like wonder as soft flickers of reds, blues, and greens danced across the walls of the cave.

  
A sudden burst of light flared behind her chasing the colors from view, and Teri turned in confusion as the light faded to reveal a woman and two small children huddled together at the back of the cave. 

  
“Are you alright?” she asked moving to help them.

  
The woman’s head shot up in alarm, and she gathered the children close as she warily watched Teri approach.

  
“My name’s Teri,” she said as she drew closer. “Are you injured? My husband is up the bank, should I call for help?”

  
“Help?” the woman responded with the thick Welsh accent common amongst those who still mainly conversed in their native tongue. 

  
“That’s right, help,” Teri replied kindly as she took in the ragged cuts on the woman’s arm and the bruising on her cheekbone. Bending down she glanced at the children, a young girl and a toddler of no more than three, both of whom seemed unharmed. They stared back at her with luminous blue eyes; the boy looking up through a mop of unruly brown curls, and the girl playing with the crown of blossoms decorating her hair. Reaching inside of her pack, she pulled out a small first aid kit and cleaned the wounds on the woman’s arm before gently bandaging it. As she worked, the little boy smiled up at her before turning to hide his face in his mother’s skirts. It was then that she noticed something she had missed in her haste to help them. Glancing up at his mother, she found herself being scrutinized. At length the woman nodded and reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her pointed ear. 

  
“Fae,” Teri breathed scarcely believing what was before her. 

  
“ _Tylwyth Teg_ ,” the woman corrected with a twitch of her lips. 

  
“Of course,” Teri replied dumbly. 

  
The woman smiled again and pointed to herself. “Eleri.”

  
Teri smiled in greeting and was about to ask after the names of the children when a small ball of light burst into existence behind them. 

  
“What on Earth?” she asked as the woman quickly rose and pushed the children behind her.

  
“Must go,” Eleri said with fear in her voice. “Must hide them,” she added moving closer to the cave entrance. As the late summer sun shown down on the trio through the falling water, the traces of green and gold clinging to their milk-white skin became more apparent.

  
“How?” she asked knowing that it would be difficult to pass them off as human. 

  
The light pulsed and grew larger as Eleri reached up and unclasped a green pendant from around her neck. She said something to her daughter and the little girl quickly gathered up a small pile of twigs and moss from the debris inside the cave while her mother took a stray rock and smashed the pendant. The boy began to sniffle in alarm, and his mother shushed him before turning to gather up the shards of her pendant along with the twigs and moss and placed her hands above them. A soft light illuminated the pile as it twisted and reformed into two necklaces made of brown wooden toggles inter-woven with small green beads. Turning to her daughter she slipped a necklace over her head, kissing her forehead as Teri watched the girl’s elfin features shift into something more human. 

  
The girl reached up, touching her ears in wonder as her mother scooped up her youngest and did the same for him. 

  
“Hidden,” she said before nuzzling the toddler’s cheek and whispering in his ear. Teri watched in fascination as the boy’s eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep. 

  
A sudden stillness filled the air and Eleri looked back in alarm before thrusting the boy into Teri’s arms. 

  
“Must hide,” she begged as light began to fill the cave once more. Teri started to protest as the girl moved to take her hand, but Eleri shook her head. 

  
“Un tywll, _Dark one_ ,” Eleri said, her voice laced with fear. “Teri keeps rhai bach safe.”

  
Realizing that Eleri meant to cover their escape, Teri struggled to remember the Welsh her gran had used when she was a child and holding the fae-woman’s eyes said the words that would change her life forever. 

  
“Rwy’n addo,” she vowed. _I promise_.

  
“Yr wyf yn derbyn,” _I accept_ , Eleri replied as she lifted her hands, causing a gust of wind to blow Teri and the two children through the cascade of rushing water into the pool on the other side. 

~~~~~~~~

_Cardiff, Wales_

_Twenty years later…_

__

  
Toweling off his face as he prepared for his first day back from his suspension, Ianto Jones inspected the scratch marks along his neck resulting from the chaos of Lisa’s rampage through the hub. Looking closer, he noticed that one of the green beads adorning the necklace he had worn since he was a child had chipped during his fall. Reaching up to check the damage, he gasped in surprise as it came loose and dropped into his hand. Holding it up to sunlight from the nearby open window, he marveled as the prisms within the bead caused a series of bright green lights to dance across the room. Smiling at the sight, he glanced back at the mirror and froze in confusion as his reflection seemed to blur ever so slightly, taking on the green cast of the bead, and making his eyes appear a brighter and even deeper shade of blue. It wasn’t the shade that struck him as odd, though, it was the sense of familiarity that made him pause. It was as if he had regained something he didn’t even know he had lost. 

  
“You’re just tired,” he reassured himself as he closed the bead in his fist and the light retreated. But even as the green light reflected in the bead faded from sight, the newfound depth to his eyes remained. As his heart rate sped up and his grip on the bead tightened, Ianto felt it crack further and quickly opened his fist, finding only a dusting of green powder blowing away to nothing as a soft morning breeze caressed his palm. 

  
The dull thud of a single knock sounded, announcing that Owen had arrived to give him a final medical scan before escorting him to the hub for his first day back. Ianto shook his head, deciding that it must have been a trick of the light before chastising himself for being nervous and going to answer the door. 

  
“There’s something I want you to see,” Jack announced later that afternoon as he came down to check on him in the archives. Raising an eyebrow at the intrusion, Ianto pushed the file drawer he was working on closed before straightening his suit jacket and following him down the all too familiar route to the lower levels of the hub. As they came to a stop outside the door that used to house Lisa, Jack stopped and gave him an assessing look before tapping the newly installed keypad on the door. 

  
“It was like this when I came down to install the keypad on the empty room the next morning,” he explained as Ianto stepped inside. Where the conversion unit had previously stood there was now a riot of color as flowers covered every discernible surface; a tribute in flora now housed where Lisa had died.

  
“Rosemary for remembrance,” Ianto whispered as he surveyed the room. “Daisies for farewell…” he trailed off before reaching down to pluck a solitary bloom from the array before them. “Snowdrop for hope,” he said as he turned and held the flower out as an offering.

  
“Hope for what exactly?” Jack asked eying the white flower warily.

  
“At present?” Ianto asked shrugging his shoulders, “a chance to prove myself to you and the others.”

Jack held his gaze for a moment before reaching out to take the bloom from his hand.

  
“Accepted,” Jack replied placing it in his pocket. “Any idea how this all got here?” he asked gesturing to the room around them. 

  
“Not really, no,” Ianto replied, even though something about it seemed familiar. “My Mam used to tell stories before she died about faeries leaving flowers to mark the passing of those they cared for,” he remarked, thinking of the cluster of hydrangeas that bloomed on her grave no matter what the season.

  
The change in Jack was instant. 

  
  
“There better not be any faeries here,” he growled to the room at large. 

  
“Something you need to tell me Sir?” Ianto inquired, surprised at his sudden change in demeanor.

  
Jack glanced around the room again before running a hand over his face with a sigh. 

  
  
“Just something from my past,” he answered before gesturing for them to leave.

  
Ianto stepped back outside and watched as Jack glared at the room a final time before closing and securing the door. As he followed Jack back to the main hub and started another round of coffee, he wondered at Jack’s reaction to the notion that faeries could have brought the flowers into the hub. After all, it had been an acknowledgement of loss rather than a threat hadn’t it? But why was he so spooked?

  
As he went about the business of grinding and brewing on auto-pilot, a memory stirred at the back of his mind. 

  
_Crouching behind a boulder beside Rhiannon as they watched a gathering of elders raise their arms and call forth a bevy of flowers to cover the burial mound of the high king, his mother winking back at them as the flowers began to…_

  
“Everything alright Ianto?” Tosh asked, breaking his reverie as she came up beside him to wash her teacup.

  
“Fine Tosh,” he replied straightening his shoulders. “Would you like another cup of tea?”

  
Tosh nodded and smiled before returning to her workstation.

  
Slipping his mobile from his pocket Ianto quickly fired off a text to his sister. He’d promised when they were little to always tell her if he remembered anything of their past.

  
And a promise made by a Jones is a promise kept. 

~~~~~~~~

  
It turned out the flowers were only the beginning. 

  
A few weeks later, funny weather patterns evolved into an altercation with an ancient race that Jack called the Mara, but whom Ianto instinctively knew by a name much more sinister. While Gwen attempted to debunk the Cottingley photos based on schoolgirl research, Ianto began pulling all of the case files Torchwood had referencing faeries, Twylyth Teg, the Mara, changelings, and any other sort of fae that might add to the investigation. What he hadn’t planned on finding in the process was a file from an investigation back in 1986, bearing a photo of a very familiar witness by the name of Terrwyn Breen. 

  
“Find anything good Tea-boy?” Owen asked as Ianto quickly closed the file and slipped his butler’s mask into place while the medic sauntered up to peruse what he had found.  

  
“Only bits and pieces,” he answered noncommittally as Owen lifted the top file off the stack and flipped it open. 

  
“I’d like a look at her bits and pieces,” Owen said with a leer as he eyed Terrwyn’s photo. 

  
Ianto grit his teeth as Owen continued to expound on how “hot” young Terrwyn was, hoping that he would not see the connection between them or feel his unease. He was about to flip over the cover page to review the rest of the file when Tosh’s voice came over the comm., telling Owen to prep the autopsy bay for their return.

  
“Should give you some fresh spank material at least,” Owen said with a sneer as he tossed the file into Ianto’s lap and turned away.

  
Ianto kept the file closed until Owen had left, only then did he open it once more and lose himself in the past.

_He clung to his mother’s neck as they ran through the darkening forest, breathing in the familiar scent of honeysuckle and fresh rain that perfumed her hair, trying to still the creeping fear with the sweet smell of home. A screech echoed in the stillness and he hastened a glance over her shoulder to where the shadows grew ever closer, withering the vines and branches that sprung up behind them to aid in their escape._

_“Don’t look,” his sister panted as she ran beside them. “Fear gives them power. Don’t look.”_

  
_He nodded and buried his head against his mother’s shoulder as arrows started flying past. Suddenly she lurched forward and cried out in pain as one of them managed to catch her arm. As she stumbled towards the ground, she pulled Rhiannon towards her and lifted up her hand, calling forth a gateway in a last desperate chance at escape._ __

“Ianto we’re headed back,” said Jack’s voice over the comm., causing Ianto’s eyes to snap open.

  
  
“Right away Sir,” he replied automatically staring down at the photos in the file before him. On impulse, he slipped the file into the top drawer of his desk and locked it. Bracing his hands on the desktop before him, he steadied himself before reaching up to touch the remaining beads on his necklace. When he and Rhiannon had spoken, she had told him what little she could remember of their life before being adopted by Teri and Colwyn Jones, and warned him that the beads were the only thing keeping them safe.  
  
Only eight left. He had to be careful.

  
Two days later, Jasmine had been taken and the mood at the hub was grim. As the rest of the team left Jack to wallow in his guilt, Ianto remained behind, knowing that he had not had a choice in the matter. 

  
“I thought you might like to know that an array of tea roses was planted inside Bute Park in Estelle’s honor,” Ianto told him as he walked into Jack’s office. 

  
“Thank you,” Jack said as he took a sip from his tumbler of whiskey. “They were her favorite.”

  
“My pleasure,” Ianto said with a soft smile. “Well best be going home. Leave the glass when you’re done. I’ll clean up in the morning.”

  
“Ianto,” Jack called out causing him to pause on the threshold. “Thank you for….” He paused, not sure what to say. 

  
“You did what you had to Jack,” Ianto replied over his shoulder. “There is no reasoning with the _Ellylldan_ when they have chosen.” Jack’s brows creased at the name and fearing he had said too much, Ianto nodded and left before Jack could respond.  
  



	2. Chapter Two

It wasn’t long after their encounter with the Ellylldan that the team was facing a group of human monsters that made the faeries seem pedestrian by comparison.

“You should have seen him,” Tosh said as Owen patched Ianto up from their encounter. “Head-butted their leader straight to the floor so that I could get away,” she gushed as she took Ianto’s hand. “Thank you,” she whispered as he smiled shyly back, hoping she would see it as a mark of gratitude instead of a way of hiding his fear at having used the strength that he was not supposed to have.

Later that night after Jack had dropped him at his flat, Ianto stepped from a hard earned shower and wiped the steam from the mirror to inspect the damage. The cuts and bruises he had known, but it was the two beads missing from his necklace that caused his hands to shake. Reaching up he turned the fragile strand until the gaps were hidden at the back of his neck, promising himself to make those that remained last.

Switching off the light he padded naked towards his bed, stopping at his bedroom window to admire the full moon shining down over the sleeping denizens of Cardiff. Holding up his hand, he watched as the moonlight played across it, somehow not surprised as the battered skin mended itself and took on a subtle glow until the whole of him was gently illuminated in Arianrhod’s caress.

The next morning, Owen’s preoccupation with Gwen and their new affair severed as a welcome distraction from the fact that his broken ribs and split lip had healed overnight.

~~~~~~~~

The fourth bead was crushed scuffling with Owen over the key to the rift, and the fifth became a casualty of fighting off Saxon’s hit squad in the Himalayas. If anyone wondered how the avalanche that thundered through their base camp swept past the Torchwood team and pushed their attackers over the cliff, they didn’t voice their concerns. Ianto tried to mask his smile of satisfaction at their demise by whistling as he worked, ignoring the speculative glance Owen sent his way as he collected what was left of their things and called for an evac via the local branch of UNIT.

By the time Jack returned, it was becoming harder to hide what he was. He had started letting his hair grow a bit longer to hide the slight points that were now visible at the tips of his ears, and began wearing a variety of colors instead of the plain blue and black; not just because the colors appealed to him, but also to attribute the slight changes in his skin tone to his change in attire.

If Jack noticed any difference in the stamina, or more fae-like cast to the features of his lover, he never let on. Ianto decided that given his hatred of all things fae, it might be best to be a bit more careful, lest he end up in the cell beside Janet.

By the time he broke the sixth bead, this time as he took vengeance against the idiots who thought to sell the meat of a simple creature for profit, the wildness that lie within the heart of his people was brimming close to the surface, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before it must be released.

It was Jack's fawning over Gwen on her wedding day the finally pushed him over the edge. As soon as she ended their overly long hug goodbye, Ianto took a bewildered Jack by the hand and gave Rhys a cursory nod before leading his wayward lover into the garden behind the reception hall where he proceeded to take him with wanton abandon beneath the boughs of an ancient oak. No longer able to contain his true nature, Ianto let his magic run wild and a vast array of camellias, primroses, tulips, violets, forget-me-nots, and zinnias burst into bloom around them as he claimed Jack for his own.

The next morning as the first strands of sunlight shone down through the leaves, Ianto traced a sign of protection on his sleeping lover's forehead before gently slipping from his arms to center himself and resume his more human guise before Jack awoke. But magic hung thick in the morning air as the titter of laughter amongst the trees announced he was not alone.

“Love is begun by time, and time qualifies the spark and fire of it,” quoted a weathered voice above him. Ianto looked up and saw the benevolent face of Derwen, the Oak Mother smiling down upon him. “You have been long from your homeland that you did not see me in the starlight,” she chastised as Ianto pushed himself up to kneel before her.

“My apologies, wise one,” he replied bending his head, hoping he had not offended her.

“Do not fret son of Eleri,” she replied as the wind blew through her branches. “But we must be brief for your lover soon wakes.”

Ianto glanced back and saw that Jack had shifted, but appeared to still be lost in slumber. “Do you know of my mother?” he hastened to ask while he still had time. “Rhiannon has told me, and I remember some of it but…” he trailed off.

The great tree creaked as she laughed. “Ah youth, so impatient,” she answered with a smile. “Dear Eleri lives,” she continued turning serious. “Though the Dark One has been vanquished, his minions remain, and the gateways remain closed.”

Ianto blinked back tears wishing he had Rhiannon with him to share in the news that their mother was alive.

“But how will I-” he started to ask, as he heard Jack groan in his sleep.

“When the champion falls, a heart of undying truth shall plant the seed of change,” Derwen’s voice whispered on the wind. “Then will the guardian be set free.” As the last word faded the tree gave a mighty shake, dropping an acorn from her boughs to land at his feet.

“Ianto?” Jack asked sleepily as Ianto closed his eyes and concentrated, hoping that he appeared as human as possible; knowing that kneeling naked before an oak tree in the middle of a garden that bloomed overnight was not to his best advantage. Feeling a warm hand caress his back, he took a deep breath and turned around.

“Good morning Jack,” he answered, pulling him close for a good morning kiss. “Did you sleep well?”

“Like Titania in her bower,” Jack replied with a grin. “And even though that is the only faerie story I actually like, I am really rather glad that neither of us woke up with a set of donkey ears.”

Ianto laughed at the reference as they gathered their clothes and started to dress.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” Jack commented as Ianto helped him slip on his coat. Ianto stilled, worried that somehow Jack had overheard him. But Jack quickly put his fears to rest. “Moonlight becomes you, Jones, Ianto Jones,” he said reaching up to stroke his cheek, before leaning in to give him a fond kiss. “But as much as I loved seeing your wilder side, sadly faerie time is over,” he added smirking as he plucked a strand of ivy from his hair. Ianto just stared back at him, unsure of how to reply.

“Well I’m famished,” Jack said patting his stomach. “Wonder if the inn’s got anything good for breakfast?”

Ianto laughed in relief at the change in subject. “Let’s find out shall we?” he said as they turned to go. They started across the lawn when suddenly he stopped and checked his pockets. “Forgot my mobile,” he said with a sheepish grin. “Why don’t you go on ahead and I’ll catch up.”

Jack shrugged and Ianto hurried back to the base of the oak to pick-up the acorn and place a hand against her bark as he whispered his thanks.

~~~~~~  
Derwen’s warning was not without merit.

While The Night Traveler’s seemed at first to be kin to his kind, they had the essence of the shadow weavers, dark fae of old that fed on the life-force of others. Ianto gladly broke the seventh bead by bringing his power over the elements into play, turning the water nymph Pearl to dust, and obliterating the Ghostmaker and their kin. With a simple flick of the wrist he burned all traces of the film that had housed them before contacting the Cardiff preservation society to ensure that no other copies remained. The lone boy who had survived them was shoruded by a murky and unpleasant aura from his ordeal, and it brought tears to Ianto's eyes as he saw his fate. When the Ellylldan came to claim him, he glady stepped aside, hoping that somewhere in the lost lands he might find peace.

The return of Captain John Hart brought Ianto to the brink, and after the man left and they had laid Tosh and Owen to rest, he made a point of taking to the winds to find him. After scaring the hardened conman within an inch of his life, he put a geis on the former time agent that no shelter would harbor him, no drink would warm his belly, nor would another warm his bed, until he saved a man beyond saving, gave water to a world made of sand, and fathered a son with no mother.

Hart for his part had decided that the Welsh were one race he would endeavor to never cross again.

Later that evening as he returned to the roof of the millennium center in a swirl of rose petals, Ianto felt a sense of satisfaction as the eighth bead fell and crumbled at his feet. As the petals scattered on the wind and he made his way towards where Jack brooded on the other side, a sense of peace washed over him. For the first time in his life, he was no longer afraid of who and what he was; the presence of the final bead of protection was no longer threat, but a promise of things to come.

~~~~~~

July 2009

Standing alongside Jack before the 456, Ianto knew that he could hide no longer.

Rhiannon had taken a chance and removed her necklace when he visited her earlier that week, and they were both surprised at at how little her appearance changed. They realized that with each decision she had made to live a human life and keep her magic hidden, the magic of the necklace had slowly begun to fade until she was almost human herself. Only the luminous blue eyes that were a mirror of her brother’s and the abundance of out of season flowers in her back garden gave any implication of her true heritage, and later that afternoon as the two of them worked alongside Mica and Daffyd to plant the starts for her fall vegetable garden, she found she wasn't sorry.

“Take it,” she had insisted placing her necklace into his hands when Ianto had shown her the solitary bead that remained on his own. “There isn’t much magic left, but with the things you face, I would rather you had whatever small protection that is mine to give.

Ianto had protested, until she threatened to make him take it, and the two had broken down into a fit of giggles, neither of them noticing the soft glow of happiness that had caused the Myrtle tree by the front door to grow and bloom until it covered half of the house within the protective shroud of it’s branches.

Now as he stood before those who would steal the Earth’s children, he knew she had been right. Feeling the steady pulse of the love they shared empowering the magic within Rhiannon’s necklace, he slipped it from his pocket, closing his fist around it as he prepared to make his stand. Shots had been fired and Jack had tried every attempt at bargaining with them to release their hold on the children. The 456 had countered by releasing a virus into the building, and as the wrongness of it pressed against his senses, he knew he could wait no longer.  
It was time.

“No,” Ianto said calmly as he turned to shoot the camera on the other side of the room to interrupt it's feed before dropping his gun.

“We do not understand,” the 456 responded.

“Ianto?” Jack asked, seeing the look of determination on his lover’s face.

“I said no,” Ianto repeated, reaching up to pull his own necklace out from beneath his shirt before tugging on the remaining beed until it broke free and fell into his hand. “You will not have them,” he vowed. “This ends now.”

As the toggles of the broken necklace bounced onto the ground and became pieces of twig once more, Jack gasped and Ianto knew that he was no longer hidden. Clasping his hands together he called on the magic that was his birthright and channeled it into a ball of molten fire, throwing it towards the creature before him, burning both it and the tank housing it to ash. Satisfied that the immediate threat was destroyed, he raised both hands to the sky, blasting a hole through the ceiling of Thames House as he sent a wave of wild and untamed magic directly at the 456’s ship, trying not to laugh in glee as the parasitic race was ripped from the fabric of time and their ashes spread across the cosmos.

As he released the last of the power he fell to his knees, struggling to breathe even as the bricks reformed to seal the hole he had made in the ceiling.

“Ianto?” Jack asked as he fell to the floor.

“Sorry, Sir,” he apologized as he struggled to push himself up. “I don’t think I am immune to whatever hell the 456 unleashed,” he said as he began to cough. Jack gathered him into his arms and fought against the weakness overtaking his own limbs as held the one man he always seemed to underestimate.

“So I take it I didn’t dream you talking to a tree after Gwen’s wedding then?” he asked, causing Ianto to swear under his breath as he coughed again. “Ianto?” he asked. “Come on, surely the fae can beat a little virus?” he asked hoping he was right.

“Twylyth Teg you _twypsyn_ ,” Ianto chastised. “Never did learn Welsh, did you Jack?”

Jack laughed and as Ianto’s eyes began to close it turned into a sob. “No, no, no, you don’t,” he said shaking Ianto until he looked up at him tiredly.

“I love you, you know,” Ianto said looking at him in wonder. “Roses for love…,” he added with a whisper as he slipped away.

Jack let out a wail of despair and leaned down to give Ianto one last kiss as the virus took hold and he followed him into the black.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Undisclosed Location  
The following Morning

Gwen held onto Rhys’ arm for support as they entered the room housing the casualties from Thames House. The guards had told them Torchwood were listed as numbers 13 and 14, and as they wove their way through the rows of red blanket-covered bodies, Gwen felt herself tremble at the thought that she and Jack were all that was left of their team. When they reached them she steeled herself and crouched down, throwing the blanket on number 13 back, to expose Jack lying beneath it. Dried tears were still visible on his cheeks, but knowing he would soon return, she patted him gently on the arm before turning to number 14.

“Are you ready luv?” Rhys asked, and at Gwen’s nod pulled back the blanket to reveal a slightly different looking Ianto Jones. “Bloody hell,” Rhys exclaimed looking at the pointed ears and green-gold shimmer covering his skin. “Has he always been fae?”

Jack gasped back to life behind them and searched around him frantically until his eyes fell on Ianto’s prone form.

“Jack, I don’t think you should-” Gwen tried to protest as Jack gently pushed her aside and reached a shaking hand towards where Ianto lay so very still.

“He was afraid to tell us,” Jack said quietly. “Owen found a case file once, locked in Ianto’s desk, from back when we were researching the Roundstone Woods,” he explained as he traced his fingers over his lover’s face. “I didn’t put it together then, but it mentioned two children found near some falls said to be protected by faeries. It must have been him and his sister." Gwen's eyes narrowed as she thought about the Mara.

"Are they chosen ones then?" She asked, her hand slipping inside her jacket to grasp the small stun gun she had managed to hide within.

"I'd say Twylyth Teg," interrupted Rhys causing Gwen to pause as she contemplated what Ianto being a member of the fair folk could mean.

"He called me a twypsyn for not knowing the term," Jack laughed as he fought back tears. "He's been hiding all this time, and there were signs, so many subtle hints, but I never noticed...” he added trailing off as he gathered Ianto into his arms.

Rhys looked on in sympathy as he watched Jack hold Ianto's still form in his arms. “I never told him, I'm such a fool,” Jack murmured in despair as he pressed a kiss into Ianto's hair.

A soft thunk sounded on the floor beside them, and Rhys bent down to pick up the acorn that had fallen from Ianto’s pocket. Jack stared at it as the words his sleep-laden brain had overheard that morning beneath the great oak whispered across his mind.

“We need to get him outside and somewhere quiet so we can plant this,” he ordered plucking the acorn from Rhys' hand.

Rhys glanced to Gwen who shook her head "no" as she pulled out the stun gun and prepared to stop Jack from doing anything rash. But as he turned back to the Captain, his look of renewed hope convinced Rhys that his plan might be worth a try.

“Right," he said reaching over to lower Gwen's arm. "I’ll get a gurney. Jack, you and Gwen wrap him back up before anyone else sees those ears,” Rhys advised as he strode towards the door. “My gran followed the old ways, and I know a place that should do the trick.”

Gwen jumped up to follow him. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "Jack's obviously delusional. We can’t-“

Rhys spun around and grabbed her by the arms. "For once in your life Gwennie, put someone else first," he chastised. "You might know all about aliens and nutters, but I was raised on tales of Ianto's people and if you don't let Jack do this, neither of us will ever forgive you."

Gwen swallowed, realizing she had pushed Rhys too far. "I'll just help Jack get him ready," she answered quietly.

Rhys searched her face for any signs of deception. Finally, satisfied that she would do as he asked, he turned to go.  
"I would do the same for you," Rhys said over his shoulder as he left.

Gwen watched him leave and touched her stomach where their unborn child lay sleeping. "So would I," she whispered before squaring her shoulders and going back to help Jack.

~~~~~~  
By sunset, Rhys, Gwen, and Jack had gathered alongside a secluded cluster of trees north of Caerleon along the banks of the River Usk.

Insisting that the acorn must be planted on Welsh soil, Rhys had brought them to his Gran's old cottage nestled in the Usk River Valley. Once they arrived, he felt the familiar hum of ancient magic dancing through the air, and memories of assisting his Gran as a young boy seemed to guide his footsteps.

He had taken them to the cluster of trees that housed the offering tree where his Gran used to leave milk and honeycomb for the guardians of the nearby woods, and instructed Jack to remove any weapons or anything iron from his person before they began so as not to interfere with the magic they were trying to bring forth.

Scrambling in the dirt, Jack fought back tears of desperation as he prayed to whatever deity might be listening that this would all work and Ianto would come back. He took hope in the fact that even hours after his death, Ianto remained warm to the touch, almost as if he was waiting for someone or something to wake him up.

As the moon rose over the warm July evening, they moved Ianto alongside where Jack had planted the acorn and hoped for the best.

“It’s not working,” Gwen whispered a bit too loudly to Rhys.

“I can hear you,” Jack snapped back.

“Do you remember anything else?” Rhys asked, trying to be helpful.

Jack shook his head and sighed.

“Well maybe that’s because you were a bit too busy ogling his backside,” a weathered voice chuckled above them. The trio looked up and saw that an ancient and benevolent face now resided in the trunk of the oak tree before them.

“Mother Derwen,” Rhys whispered in awe, falling to his knees and gesturing for a gaping Gwen to do the same.

“Rhys, grandson of Dilys,” Derwen said in greeting. “I see the sins of the mother are not those of the son,” she added with a grin. Gwen snorted and the tree laughed harder. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t overly fond of Rhys’ Mam.

“Can you help us?” Jack asked, hoping she would help.

“Only you can break the geis over the gateways and set him free,” she replied. “You have sown the seed of change, but now you must give it life,” she added kindly.

“But I don’t know how,” Jack answered.

As Rhys watched the exchange it suddenly dawned on him what was needed.

“Tell him Jack,” he said. “Show him everything you were too bloody scared to say when you had a chance.” Gwen frowned, wondering what Rhys as on about as Jack moved closer to Ianto and gently took him in his arms.

“I should have told you every day Yan,” he started, staring down at his too still face. “I’ve loved you pretty much from the start, but the bigger it grew, the more scared I became.” Leaning forward, he placed his lips against the still lips of his lover. “I want you with me always, please come back,” he whispered as he kissed him one last time.

Gwen gasped as tendrils of green and gold light began to cover the two men, leaning against a grinning Rhys in shock as she watched Ianto’s arm slowly slide up to clasp the back of Jack’s neck to deepen the kiss. When the two of them finally came up for air, Jack laughed in happiness and Ianto joined him, reveling in the magic that their love for one another had called forth.

A flash of light burst into existence near the riverbank and they quickly stood to watch as a small wooden bridge materialized to span the water, leading to a circle of light - a portal of some kind, a sun dappled glen visible on the other side.

A lone figure stood within the glen watching them. She was tall, with a dress the color of fresh spring clover and a wreath of midsummer blooms crowning her long brown hair. As she drew closer, Ianto realized who she was and ran forward to meet her before anyone could stop him.

Jack snatched up his wrist strap from the pile he had left at the edge of the clearing and slipped it back on to scan the area, his prior encounters with the Mara making him wary, even though he had an idea of who she might be.

“My son,” Eleri whispered as she gathered the man whom she had last held as a small boy into her arms. Ianto breathed in a scent he once thought lost: honeysuckle and fresh rain. Mother.

“You look like your father,” she said with a smile holding Ianto out at arm’s length. Looking over his shoulder she nodded to Mother Derwen, who winked in return before slipping out of sight.

“Your sister?” she asked not seeing her amongst the group.

“Has chosen the human path, but would love to see you once more,” Ianto replied hoping she would understand.

“Fear not un bach,” she said falling back on the endearment she had used when he was a child. “I wish only happiness for you both. I have learned Saesneg so that I might better speak with you both.”

Ianto smiled and Eleri gestured towards where Jack waited behind him. “This is your intended?” she asked as he stepped forward.

“I am,” Jack answered as he bowed and kissed her hand. “That is if you approve?”

Eleri laughed, and clasped Jack’s hand within her own. “Undying one, long have the elders spoken of the two who would join our worlds and break the geis that sealed the path between them with their love. Far be it from me to deny my son happiness with the man who has made our two worlds whole once more.”

Jack and Ianto shared a look, worried at what having the gateways between worlds being open could mean.

“Fear not dear warriors,” she said as she saw their faces. “For as the guardian of the gateways, only those who have peaceful intentions will I allow safe passage.”

While the two men relaxed, Gwen looked on in concern. This all seemed far too easy. Surely there was more to it then just opening some kind of a rift to faerie land and trusting Ianto's Mam to guard it?

“And what about Ianto?” she demanded before Rhys could stop her. “Are you just going to take him away now that the gateways are open?”

Eleri started at her tone and turned to her son. “While it is true you need training, I will not hold you to our realm,” she said solemnly. “Time moves differently there though, so I cannot guarantee how swiftly you would return,” she added glancing at Jack.

“I have just the thing,” he replied, slipping the stopwatch from his pocket and placing it in his lover’s hand.

Ianto stared down at the battered timepiece that had been so instrumental in bringing them to where they were today before glancing around at the moonlit trees surrounding them.

“Kind of reminds me of when we first met,” he said with a shy smile.”

Jack grinned. “Oh yeah, those were nice jeans,” he answered wistfully as moonlight played over Ianto's skin and gave it an unearthly glow. "I'll say it again, moonlight really does become you my Jones, Ianto Jones," he said pulling him closer and bringing Ianto's hand to his lips. "Promise me you'll come back?"

"Always," Ianto replied, huskily. "Do you promise to wait?"

Jack held his gaze and somehow the perfect words to make his vow drifted to him on the wind. "Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love thee," he whispered before sealing his vow with a kiss.

"Robin Goodfellow's playmate did have rather a way with words," Eleri observed as her son blushed. Turning away from the lovers she made her way over to where Rhys and Gwen stood.

"Well met Rhys son of the Dryw," she said as he bowed his head. "Long has your family been a friend to my kind," she continued as he held out her hand. Within it lay a walnut sized peridot; the pale green facets of the gem glittering in the starlight. "May it bring you prosperity and good fortune for all of your days," she said as she placed it in his palm. "The gateways to our world are always open to you and your kin.”

"Thank you My Lady," Rhys replied. "My wife Gwen," he added gesturing to where she stood beside him.

She turned to regard Gwen with ancient eyes, and Gwen tried not to flinch as the woman seemed to look into her very her soul. She had felt the same scrutiny from Ianto before, as if he had found some great flaw within her that could not be mended.

"Heed my warning, Gwen Elizabeth Cooper Williams," Eleri said as she held her gaze. "Long have I watched from Annwn as you turned a blind eye on the magic of the world, choosing to tear apart the weave and the weft of truth and reshape it to meet your goals." When she paused, Gwen looked over her shoulder and saw Jack and Ianto watching silently, neither of them coming to her defense, and Gwen felt a sudden chill as she realized that Eleri might be right.

"If you do not change your path," she continued. "The child you carry, and her father will be taken from your side by those who would keep them safe." A soft tittering of laughter echoed through the trees and Gwen shivered.

The cluster of silver bells adorning the offering tree jingled on the wind and Eleri turned away to rejoin her son. "The hour draws late, and we must away, there is much to learn before you return," she said patting his arm and before smiling at Jack. "Take heart son of Boeshane, you will see my son again."

“If you have need of me before I return, place this in the moonlight and before the moon hath taken flight, I will be at your side,” Ianto promised as he handled Jack a single red rose.

“I will,” Jack promised pulling him in for one last kiss.

Ianto drew back and kissed Jack’s forehead once, renewing the spell of protection he had placed on his beloved before crossing the bridge to join his mother. The two of them turned to raise a hand in farewell, and with a flash of light, they were gone.

~~~~~~  
Shanghai  
2011

 

“There is no way to stop it Captain Harkness,” The Mother smirked as she took in Jack’s battered appearance. We captured your CIA friend before he could reach our Buenos Aires stronghold. Your plan has failed."

Jack backed up to railing and reached into his pocket, pulling forth a deep red rose, lush and full in its bloom.

“A rose?” she laughed as he held it up to the strand of moonlight shining down through the ceiling. “I assure you that flirting with me will get you no where.”

Jack smiled as the room grew unnaturally still. “Why would I flirt with you, when I have someone like him?” he answered as burst of light erupted at his side, spewing forth a dozen Twylyth Teg, led by a very familiar man dressed in armor of green and gold.

Ianto held aloft his sword and a host of Ellylldan twisted into being, cackling in glee as they attacked the mercenaries working for The Families and drug them away.

The Twylyth Teg moved into position to put an end to the so called blessing that encased the last repository of the Dark One’s magic. Forming a semi circle around the tunnel that housed it, they collectively raised their arms and called a storm into being over both ends of the planet, creating a maelstrom that filled the tunnel from Shanghai to Buenos Aires with a spectacular array of wind, lightning, and hail that battered against the cancerous growth until it crumpled to dust and the Earth rushed in to heal the void, making herself whole once more.

As the winds receded, Ianto held out a hand and the portal they had used reopened to allow their brethren who had been on the other side of the tunnel in Buenos Aires to step through.

As the gathering of Twylyth Teg clasped arms in greeting, the remaining Ellylldan shrieked and unleashed their rose laden fury on both The Mother and Oswald Danes for harming their chosen ones. Despite having previous misgivings about their methods, Jack found himself oddly content that somehow justice had been served.

Satisfied that all was peaceful for now, Ianto turned to Jack. “You called?” he said raising an eyebrow. Jack laughed and embraced him, feeling his heart swell as he held his beloved once more.

“What’s with Legolas and his Merry Men?” Rex asked as he stepped forward with Gwen in tow. "Is that portal thing we used even safe?" he added with a scowl.

“Rex, this is Ianto,” Jack explained as he released him. “He’s my, well, my everything.” Jack said with a smile.

Rex rolled his eyes. “So what now?” he asked, wondering what Torchwood would do now that Miracle Day was over.

“Now I go home,” Jack said turning back to grab Ianto’s hand.

“Are you sure?” Ianto asked, not knowing if Jack could really give everything up to return with him.

“I’m not letting you leave without me again,” he answered as Ianto smiled. “Besides, it we can always come back later,” he added with a grin. “We have all the time in the world now.”

“That we do,” Ianto acknowledged as he leaned forward to kiss him.

Turning to the others he called out an order and the group assembled behind him. Ianto held his hand aloft and reopened the gateway, this time to a meadow alongside a gentle stream with the spires of a magnificent castle in the distance. Dragons could be seen flitting through the clouds and a herd of wild horses basked in the midday sun. The group of Twylyth Teg went first with Ianto and Jack bringing up the rear.

“Torchwood is yours,” Jack said as he tossed a jump drive in Gwen’s direction.

Gwen caught it and stared at it for a moment before realizing that Jack was really leaving.

“You planned this didn’t you?” she accused as they stepped through to the other side.

“Ever since Ianto left,” Jack replied. “Torchwood is dead Gwen. That file is all that’s left,” he added before she could protest further.

“Give my love to Rhys,” Ianto added with a wave as the portal closed.

Later as the two of them lay nestled in a bower high in the treetops of the ancient forest beside the castle, he asked Jack what was on it.

“The Jack-eraser,” Jack replied with a grin. “It’s a specialty virus Tosh cooked up that erases all trace of me in any known systems on the planet and eradicates all known Torchwood data files, housing them in a single repository back at Torchwood House under Archie’s protection. Since the mainframe was active before I left, I figured it was time to test it. Maybe if Gwen can’t access the files, she might think twice and put Rhys and the baby first.”

Ianto laughed. “Ah Tosh, she was brilliant wasn’t she?” he said wistfully.

“Just like you,” Jack said as he kissed his way up Ianto’s chin to nibble on his ear.

“Stop it!” Ianto giggled batting him away. “I told you they were ticklish.”

“What about here?” Jack whispered, kissing his way down his lover’s neck. “Or here?” he added as his hand wandered down his body, tracing patterns of love against his delectable moon-kissed skin.

Ianto growled and flipped Jack over until they had changed places, giving him only a brief glance at the flame of wild magic dancing in his eyes before pleasure consumed them both. As Jack fell asleep surrounded by the kaleidoscope of flora and fauna that now decorated their bower, he sighed in contentment. He was home at last.

~finis~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> geis - curse or obligation  
> Un Bach - Little One  
> Saesneg - English Language  
> dryw - druid/seer  
> Annwn - The Realm of Faerie


End file.
